Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Novanta from a "hold" to a "buy," though the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with a $144 average target price.
• Quarterly results and guidance: Novanta beat EPS estimates ($0.91 vs. $0.88) while revenue slightly missed, and issued FY2026 guidance of 3.500–3.650 EPS with Q1 guidance of 0.750–0.800.
• Insider selling is notable: the CEO and CFO recently sold shares and insiders disposed of 34,303 shares (~$4.55M) in the last three months, while institutional investors hold about 98.35% of the stock.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novanta from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Novanta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT stock opened at $117.04 on Friday. Novanta has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $149.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 80.16 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $131.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $258.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.72 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 5.49%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Novanta will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.04, for a total transaction of $1,087,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 57,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,320,509.68. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $1,162,678.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,281,850.32. This represents a 9.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,303 shares of company stock worth $4,545,416. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Novanta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Novanta in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Novanta during the third quarter worth $40,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 978.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 399 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novanta by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Novanta Company Profile

Novanta, Inc NASDAQ: NOVT is a global technology company that designs and manufactures precision components, subsystems and software used in advanced photonics and motion control applications. The company serves customers in the medical device and advanced industrial markets, supplying critical technologies for diagnostics and therapeutic systems, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and scientific instrumentation. Novanta's product portfolio includes laser control modules, optics, beam delivery systems, high-precision motors, actuators, stages, and fluidics solutions designed to meet stringent accuracy and reliability requirements.

Novanta's Photonics segment delivers laser and energy delivery components that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging.

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